324-325.
mvp-comment-182-1
O father and sister, names that I love to use. The name is often interchanged with the thing or person named. Cp. Phil. 234, Φ. ὦ φίλτατον φώνημα. Eur. Suppl. 801-802.
325-326.
mvp-comment-183-1
How hardly I have found you, and now again (δεύτερον) how hardly I can see you for sorrow; i. e. And now that I have found you, my sorrow almost prevents me from seeing you. For λύπη, which is dat. of cause, see Essay on Language § 14. p. 21.
327.
mvp-comment-184-1
ὁρᾶν Essay on Language § 33. P. 57.
328-331.
mvp-comment-185-1
Editors since Musgrave, who followed the Scholiast's hint, μὴ ἄρα πρὸς τὸ δυσαθλία; have transposed these lines, placing 328 between 330 and 331, on the ground that Ismene cannot be supposed to touch herself. Not much is gained by this: for Ismene is rather struck by the contrast of her father's and her sister's mode of life to her own at Thebes than by the misery she shares with them. And the construction of a reply, in this sort of dialogue, is not to be pressed too closely. Cp. amongst other passages, El. 1036, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ἐπίστω γ' οἱ μ᾿ ἀτιμίας ἄγεις. | ΧΡ. ἀτιμίας μὲν οὔ.
328-331.
mvp-comment-185-2
προμηθίας δὲ σοῦ, where προμηθίας has really no construction. Perhaps all that is meant is, I too am linked in this unhappy circle. For δυσάθλιαι, which has been questioned, cp. δυστάλαινα, δυσπόνητος, δυσθρήνητος.
331.
mvp-comment-186-1
δυσμόρου δ'
And you must include me, unhappy. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 341, τρίτη δ᾽ ἐγὼ δύστηνος ὡς ἀπόλλυμαι. There is no reason for changing δέ το τε.
333.
mvp-comment-187-1
λόγοις The meaning of the dative is varied from the cause to the concomitant.
By reason of longings?
Yes, and also with intelligence, which I myself would bring. The reading λόγων is probably an early conjecture. The repetition of the same construction in a slightly different sense is frequent in the language of this period.
334.
mvp-comment-188-1
ξύν, κ.τ.λ. is said by attraction for ξὺν τούτῳ, ὅνπερ εἶχον πιστὸν μόνον.
335.
mvp-comment-189-1
πονεῖν i. e. εἰς τὸ πονεῖν.
And what is become of the young men your brothers in the matter of this service? Cp infr. 342, οὓς μὲν εἰκὸς ἦν πονεῖν τάδε. A similar construction occurs in Eur. Οr. 1473, ποῦ δῆτ᾽ ἀμύνειν οἱ κατὰ στέγας Φρύγες; cp. Il. 13.312, ἀμύνειν εἰσὶ καὶ ἄλλοι. ποῖ is more expressive than ποῦ (which there is no reason to suppose the Scholiast to have read in the text).
335.
mvp-comment-189-2
ποῖ, SC. οἶχονται. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 405, ποῖ ποὶ δὴ νερτέρων τυραννίδες; For the implied negative in epexegesis expressing defect, i. e. πονεῖν = τὸ μὴ πονεῖν, see Essay on Language § 36. p. 63. The other explanation of the Scholiast, ποῦ τοῦ πονεῖν εἰσι, is not so good.
336.
mvp-comment-190-1
They are, where they are. For similar expressions, implying something too bad to name, see О. Т. 1376, βλαστοῦσ᾽ ὅπως ἔβλαστε, and note.
336.
mvp-comment-190-2
δεινὰ δ᾽ ἐν κείνοις τὰ νῦν
Things are terrible with them now.' The Scholiast in saying vῦν δὲ τὰ ἐν ἐκείνοις δεῖνά ἐστιν implies this reading. Others read δεινὰ τὰν κείνοις τανῦν.
338.
mvp-comment-191-1
φύσιν .. τροφάς
In character and mode of life.
338.
mvp-comment-191-2
Hdt. 2. 35, Αἰγύπτιοι.. τὰ πολλὰ πάντα ἔμπαλιν τοῖσι ἀλλοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι ἐστήσαντο ἤθεα καὶ νόμους.
338.
mvp-comment-191-3
ἐν τοῖσι αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες ἀγοράζουσι καὶ καπηλεύουσι· οἱ δὴ ἄνδρες, κατ' οἴκους ἐόντες, ὑφαίνουσι.
341.
mvp-comment-192-1
τάξω βίου τροφεῖα
The outdoor means of supporting life. Cp.
341.
mvp-comment-192-2
πυρεῖα,
means of obtaining fire. There is a slight redundancy in βίου τροφεία. Cp. 343, κατ' οἶκον οἰκουροῦσιν, and see Essay on Language § 40. p. 75.
342.
mvp-comment-193-1
σφῶν δ᾽
And in your case. Dat. of relation: i. e. You find it so. Some editors, taking σφῷν as gen., suppose the dual to be used of the two pairs of children.
344.
mvp-comment-194-1
κακά For the accusative. see Essay on Language § 16. p. 23, and cp. O. T. 264, τάδ᾽ ὡσπερεὶ τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς | ὑπερμαχοῦμαι. δυστήνου (sc. ἐμοῦ) agrees κατὰ σύνεσιν with ἐμά, but is also resumed with ὑπερπονεῖτον.
345.
mvp-comment-195-1
Antigone had followed her father as soon as she had the strength.
351.
mvp-comment-196-1
ἡγεῖται The sentence returns to the indicative from the participial construction. Essay on Language p. 64. 1, b.
351.
mvp-comment-196-2
τὰ τῆς οἴκοι διαίτης (1)
The comforts of the life at home, or (2)
What subsistence she herself may find; cp. Τr. 730, ᾧ μηδέν ἐστ᾽ οἴκοι βαρύ.
355.
mvp-comment-197-1
ἃ τοῦδ᾽ ἐχρήσθη σώματος] 'Which were given respecting me. Essay on Language § 9. p. 13. The context shows that the oracle here referred to was one obtained by the Thebans respecting Oedipus after they had sent him forth. The plot of the O. C. does not permit us to suppose that Creon had waited for the response, according to O. T. 1438-1439, before hastening the king's exile. This oracle directed the course of Oedipus towards Athens.
356.
mvp-comment-198-1
γῆς ὅτ᾽ ἐξηλαυνόμην The order of events is inverted in the narration. Essay on Language p. 78.
358.
mvp-comment-199-1
τίς σ᾽ ἐξῆρεν οἴκοθεν στόλος A figurative inversion of the common expression, αἴρειν στόλον,
What errand sped thee from home?
360.
mvp-comment-200-1
μὴ οὐχί, κ.τ.λ. Added in explanation of κενή. οὐχί is added because of the previous oὔ. Essay on Language p. 49.
362.
mvp-comment-201-1
Seeking how thou wast maintained or where.' ποῦ κατοικοίης defines the notion of τροφήν.
363.
mvp-comment-202-1
παρεῖσ᾽ ἐάσω Cp. Ο. Τ. 283, μὴ παρῇς τὸ μὴ οὐ φράσαι.
365.
mvp-comment-203-1
ἀμφὶ .. παίδοιν Dative. ‘Encompassing your wretched sons.'
367-369.
mvp-comment-204-1
This passage has been generally regarded as corrupt, and ἦν ἔρις has been changed to ἦν ἔρως, ἦν ὅρος, ἤρεσεν. Some edd., including Meineke, who reads κραίνεσθαι, explain,
They contended with Creon, urging that the throne should be left vacant. And the authors of the punctuation in AV³ and of the gloss ὁ τε πλεονάζει, must have so taken the words. But, as this gloss indicates, the expression Κρέοντί τε for πρὸς Κρέοντα is not quite natural or harmonious here. And the antithesis of ἔρις κακή in what follows, assisted by the parallelism of construction, ἐᾶσθαι.. λαβέσθαι. isstrongly in favour of the MS. reading. ἔρις may be supported by supposing the brothers to have jointly resisted a party amongst the citizens who desired that one of them should take his father's throne. Cp. Thuc. 6. 35, τοῖς δέ (sc. ἔρις ἦν).
Beforetime their contention was that they should relinquish -to Creon their rights in the throne, and that the city should not suffer pollution; professing in their argument to have regard to the ancient ruin of their race, etc. ἐᾶσθαι is middle voice. Cp. λαβέσθαι infr. For λόγῳ, cp. infr. 1296, οὔτε νικήσας λόγῳ. And for τε.. μηδὲ Eur. Iph. Τ. 697, ὄνομά τ᾽ ἐμοῦ γένοιτ' ἂν οὐδ᾽ ἄπαις δόμος | πατρῷος οὑμὸς ἐξαλειφθείη ποτ᾿ ἄv. Essay on Language p. 65.
371.
mvp-comment-205-1
*ἀλειτηροῦ Although ἀλιτήριος has the first short, ἀλειτηρός may be defended by comparing ἀλείτης, ἄλοιτος. Eustathius mentions ἀλιτηρός as a word used by Sophocles. If any change is needed, ἀλειτηροῦ, which is partly supported by the reading ἀλητηροῦ, is the most probable. The heaven-sent infatuation, which leads to their destruction, is assisted by their own evil mind.
374.
mvp-comment-206-1
χὼ μὲν νεάζων
And the younger spirit.' The participle implies youthful qualities (impetuosity, ambition etc.), as well as the fact of being the younger. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 713, μῶν νεάζων οὐχ ὁρᾷς ἃ χρή σ᾽ ὁρᾶν, addressed to Eteocles.
376.
mvp-comment-207-1
Pherecydes and Hellanicus differed about this. See Schol. Eur. Phoen. 71.
377.
mvp-comment-208-1
ὁ πληθύων Lit.
the more numerous, i. e. having the majority of voices. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 860.
378.
mvp-comment-209-1
τὸ κοῖλον Ἄργος
The hollow vale of Argos. Cp. infr. 1301, Ἄργος ἐς τὸ Δωρικόν.
381.
mvp-comment-210-1
ὡς αὐτίκ᾿Ἄργος κ.τ.λ. For the construction, see Essay on Language § 21. p. 44, and cp. O. T. 101, ὡς τόδ' αἷμα χειμάζον πόλιν. It has been suggested to read αὐτός for Ἄργος, (with καθέξων in 381), but the words express the motive held out to the Argive followers of Polynices, to whom he would naturally represent the struggle as one between their city and Thebes. Cp. infr. 1325, ἄγω τὸν Ἄργους ἄφοβον εἰς Θήβας στρατόν.
381.
mvp-comment-210-2
τὸ Καδμεῖον πέδον Καδμεῖον here, as in Ο. Τ. 29, δῶμα Καδμεῖον, is the more poetical reading.
381.
mvp-comment-210-3
τιμῇ καθέξον Το obtain with honour.' For τιμῇ = ἐντίμως, see Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.
381.
mvp-comment-210-4
ἢ πρὸς οὐρανὸν βιβῶν
Or to raise it to heaven. According to the frequent vaunt of the Homeric heroes, ἠε τῳ εὖχος ὀρέξομεν, ἠε τις ἡμῖν. ΙΙ. 12. 328, 13. 487. Cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 46. ἢ πόλει κατασκαφὰς θέντες λαπάξειν ἄστυ Καδμείων βίᾳ | ἢ γῆν θανόντες τήνδε φυράσειν φύνῳ. Should the expedition fail, the splendour of the Argive host would be the measure of the glory of the Cadmeans.
382.
mvp-comment-211-1
ἀριθμὸς.. λόγων
A mere heaping together of words. Cp. Eur. Eu Tro. 476, οὐκ ἀριθμὸν ἄλλως, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπερτάτους Φρυγῶν.
383.
mvp-comment-212-1
ὅποι
At what point? i.e. how long they must first continue. A pregnant expression, like ἡ μάχη ἐτελεύτα ἕως ὀψέ, Thuc. 3. 108. Cp. El. 958, ποῖ γὰρ μενεῖς ῥάθυμος;
385.
mvp-comment-213-1
ἤδη γὰρ ἔσχες ἐλπίδ'
What? had you begun to entertain a hope?' ὡς ἐμοῦ θεοὺς | ὥραν τιν᾿ ἕξειν] A confusion of the two constructions, ὡς ἕξοιεν θεοί and ἕξειν θεούς. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 799, αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ μαρτυρῶν | ὡς ταῦτ᾽ Ὀρέστην δρῶντα μὴ βλαβὰς ἔχειν. See Essay on Language § 36. p. 67.
387.
mvp-comment-214-1
τοῖς νῦν.. μαντεύμασιν
By reason of what is now feretold.
390.
mvp-comment-215-1
εὐσοίας χάριν
For their own preservation. εὐσοίας is mentioned in the Scholia as the better reading.
391.
mvp-comment-216-1
τοιοῦδ᾽ ὑπ᾿ ἀνδρός
Who can derive prosperity from such as I am? Herm. reads τίς ἄν *τι τοιοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός..;
392.
mvp-comment-217-1
φασί
They say. The subject is to be inferred from l. 413, viz. ἄνδρες θεωροὶ Δελφικῆς ἀφ᾽ ἑστίας. For similar vagueness of subject in reference to a reported prophecy, cp. О. Т. 110.
395.
mvp-comment-218-1
φλαύρον
A poor business. There is not much good in raising up
in age one who fell in youth. On the omission of ἄv, see Essay on Language § 27. P. 45.
401.
mvp-comment-219-1
θύραισι κειμένου
Laid at their doors. The word κειμένου, though perhaps chosen with a view to what follows, as expressing Oedipus' presentiment of his end, has more immediate reference to the inactivity of age. A young warrior received within their gates might be of some avail, but what profit was there in an old man lying idle beyond their confines? Cp. the Homeric λυγρῷ ἐπὶ γήραος οὐδῷ, and Shakespeare's
unregarded age in corners thrown. Y 2
402.
mvp-comment-220-1
The difficulty of interpreting this line has arisen from not observing that the dative is
governed of δυστυχῶν (= δυστυχῶς γιγνόμενος) as well as of βαρύς. Cp. supr. 308. Your burial, happening in a way unfortunate for them, is a danger to them.' According to this rendering, the point of the reply is obvious enough. It needs no divine intimation to teach us this.'
405.
mvp-comment-221-1
μηδ᾽ ἵν᾽ ἂν σαυτοῦ κρατῆς
But not in any place where you will be your own master. The subjunctive, as usual, after a relative adverb with av. Some editors have changed κρατῆς το κρατοῖς. But although this is favoured by the explanation of the Scholiast, ὅπου κρατοῖς ἂν σαυτοῦ, and by the comparison of l. 190, the change is unnecessary. For the adversative μηδέ, cp. El. 132, οὐδ᾽ ἐθέλω προλιπεῖν τύδε.
406.
mvp-comment-222-1
κατασκιῶσι
Will they overshadow me? Cp. infra 1707 τύμβον.. εὐσκιαστον: The Two Noble Kinsmen, 1, 1,
Human grace Affords them dust and shadow.
407.
mvp-comment-223-1
ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐᾷ.. σ᾽ Sc κατασκιασθῆναι Θηβαίᾳ κύνει.
407.
mvp-comment-223-2
τοῦμφυλον αἷμα
The guilt of parricide. Cp. Ant. 703, νεῖκος.. ξύναιμον : О. Т. 1406. Cp. Plat. Legg. 9. 871 D. (of the punishment of homicide), ὁ δὲ ὀφλὼν θανάτῳ ζημιούσθω καὶ μὴ ἐν τῇ τοῦ παθόντος χώρᾳ θαπτέσθω, where it is added that the intention to kill is to be punished in the same way, except in the matter of burial.
410.
mvp-comment-224-1
ποίας φανείσης συναλλαγῆς On what conjuncture having arisen?' 414. ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν With regard to me.' Cp. Ο. Τ. 829, ἐπ᾿ ἀνδρὶ τῷδ᾽ ἂν ὀρθοίη λόγον.
415.
mvp-comment-225-1
οἱ μολόντες
Those who returned, viz. the θεωροί.
416.
mvp-comment-226-1
For the indefinite Tus in a question, cp. supra 66, ἄρχει τις αὐτῶν; The use of τις = πότερος, where only two are spoken of, is remarkable.
419-420.
mvp-comment-227-1
It may seem unreasonable in Oedipus to expect his sons to disregard the interest and the law of Thebes. But he is absorbed in his own destiny, and is full of indignation at the thought of being taken to the borders of his country without being restored to it. This he thinks that his sons ought to have interfered to prevent. He regards the oracle as expressing the intention of Phoebus to glorify him at the expense of his countrymen if they persist in rejecting him. See Introduction, p. 281, note 2.
420.
mvp-comment-228-1
φέρω δ᾽ ὅμως
But still, such are the news I bring. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 248, φέρει σαφές τι πρᾶγος κλύειν : Ag. 639, ὅταν . . πήματ᾿ ἄγγελος.. φέρῃ. 421 ff. The correspondence of clauses is not perfect, a new train of thought being introduced with δέ in 422. The broken thread is resumed in 425-426. Oedipus is saying,
Let their quarrel go on to the end, and may the end be the worst for both. His passion interrupts him with the further thought,
Let me only have the ending of it, and then-. For the expression, cp. Pind. Nem. 10. 29, 30, πᾶν δὲ τέλος ἐν τὶν ἔργων.
